One Punch Gardener
by nanayoung
Summary: Jaune Arc was born physically weak and with a lot of health problems. Despite this, he decided he wanted to become not just a Hunter, but the strongest Hunter there ever was. And after three years, he achieved his dream. But now that he has become the strongest, he's not sure what to do with his life. So he decided to take up gardening and leave Hunting as a hobby.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Punch Man or RWBY**

 **Chapter One: The Goal**

Jaune Arc was the youngest member of his family. The youngest and - by far - the weakest.

This wasn't due to anything on his part. Though his seven older sisters were all born relatively healthy, Jaune himself was born premature. Coupled with various forms of illness that he had to battle through during the first fourteen years of his life as well as his general clumsiness and one would find themselves wondering how he managed to live as long as he did. And it's because of Jaune's general misfortune when it came to his own health that he was the weakest of all his family members.

They didn't hold it against him of course. On the contrary, his parents and sisters were actually rather overprotective of their weakest family member. It wasn't uncommon to find one of them shadowing him when he wasn't looking, worried about whether or not he needed his medicine or whether or not he would get hurt that day. Jaune himself was well aware of all of this, and took it in a stride, though he did find himself annoyed when he caught them at their stalking antics more than once. He may not be the healthiest or strongest member, but that didn't mean he was _helpless_.

As a matter of fact, Jaune never really saw his heath a problem at all. He was annoyed by it, yes, but he didn't see how it would stop him from becoming what he always wanted: a Hunter.

The Arc Family was one of the more well known Hunter families in the world of Remnant. Their legacy stretched on for hundreds if not thousands of years, with each and every generation following in their ancestor's footsteps in order to become Hunters and Huntresses. Jaune grew up with stories of his grandparents and their contribution in the war, of his mother and father's tales of strange creatures and marvelous wonders, of his sisters talking about the joy on the faces of those they saved. He lived and breathed the Hunter's lifestyle for a good part of his life, and wanted nothing more than to be one himself.

But no one would let him. Because while Jaune didn't see his collapsing health as an issue, everyone else did. His parents feared that he would die just from the training alone, while his sisters worried that he would end up collapsing in the middle of a Grimm attack. The various doctors and healers that they sent their son to said that even if his aura was awakened, it wouldn't be able to improve his health. All the illnesses and diseases that he battled through during his life made his body too weak for the Hunter lifestyle.

Jaune did not take this news well. As a matter of fact, he _refused_ to believe that he couldn't become a Hunter when his parents told him.

He refused to let his health keep him from his dream. And when his parents refused to train him and later instructed his sisters to not train him as well, Jaune decided that if no one else would train him then he would have to train himself. Train himself so hard that he would not only become the strongest Hunter in existence, but so that he could defeat any Grimm with just a single punch.

And Jaune, not knowing much about how a Hunter is trained, started off with the hardest regime his body would allow:

100 push-ups. 100 sit-ups. 100 squats. 10km running. Every. Goddamn. Day.

The first few weeks he felt as though he was going to die. It was hard for him to even walk to and from school by himself with his health condition, let alone the type of exercise he planned on doing. During those first few weeks the simplest of push-ups took him minutes to do while every time he forced his shaking legs to run he had to remind himself not to give up. To keep taking step after step, even when he felt like he was dying.

His family, of course, noticed. And they did their best to try to stop him, sometimes even holding him down so he wouldn't move. But Jaune keep at it. Everyday he would train himself to the point of exhaustion. Until slowly but surely, he got the results he looked for.

After three years of training and constantly dodging all of his family's attempts to stop him, he realized he did it.

He had become the strongest. No Grimm would stand up to him. Nothing could harm him. Even his family, as skilled and experienced as they were, found themselves falling to his strength. With just a single punch, entire _armies_ of Grimm would fall by his hand. He was unstoppable. He was indestructible. He was powerful.

He was bored out of his goddamn mind.

For you see, Jaune had accomplished the impossible. He had become so fundamentally, cosmically strong that nothing could stand in his way anymore. It didn't matter if they were Grimm, Hunters, Maidens, or superpowered Silver-eyed warriors. He could defeat _everything_ with just a single punch. And it was because of this that he got so _tired_ of it. Nothing could stand in his way, nothing could give him any sort of challenge. And while he didn't become a Hunter just to have an exciting life, he could admit that it was a huge part of it. So much so that the act of hunting and taking down dangerous Grimm and criminals became less of a duty and more of a chore he had to force himself to do.

Jaune had come to a realization. While he loved helping people and loved being able to keep people safe... it wasn't something that he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He had great power, yes, but he took no joy in actually using it. The act of saving lives and slaying Grimm had, over time, become nothing more than a hobby to him. Something that he did occasionally, but not a big part of his life anymore. He simply... lost the drive for it.

So what was he supposed to do now? What was he supposed to do now that he could no longer challenge himself and no longer really pushed himself to fulfill his job as a Hunter?

The answer hit him when he was busy tending to his garden one day. He had found himself turning to gardening more and more often as the days passed by and boredom and apathy overtook his mind. He was carefully tending to each of the plants in his garden, making sure to never crush the gentle leaves with his immense strength, when a thought entered his mind. He dismissed it at first, but when the days passed he found the thought growing bigger and bigger in his mind, until one morning he said it out loud.

"Why don't I become a gardener?"

After all, gardening had taken up a large portion of his life ever since he reached his full power. His sisters had commented more than once that they usually found him planting new seeds in the backyard these days, instead of him randomly traveling the world in search of Grimm to defeat. His parents in particular had praised him on how delicious and perfect his fruits and vegetables were, as well as his talents when it came to planting things. He often found himself up late at night, just watering his planets and tenderly clipping the leaves. It had become something... important to him.

Instead of staying a Hunter... maybe he would become a gardener full time? And just regulate his Hunting job as a hobby? It couldn't hurt after all.

And thus Jaune Arc, the most powerful Hunter in all of Remnant, quit his job and became an average gardener.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Jobs**

There was this small flower shop in Vale that Jaune managed to land a job in. The salary was pretty okay and the owners were this really nice older couple who always tried to pinch his cheeks in front of the customers. Jaune wasn't sure how the hell he managed to land the job in the first place since he freely admitted he was kind of socially awkward at the best of times.

He may have stuttered a bit more than he should have during the job interview.

And might have accidentally flirted with them both. As well as implied a few things that he really should not have when it came to an old couple whom he just met. Jaune was pretty sure he had never felt so embarrassed in his life.

Luckily they played it off as a joke and hired him anyway, though he couldn't see why they would. Like, he really messed up that interview. Really, really messed up. He was honestly surprised they didn't call the cops; he must have sounded like a perverted weirdo.

He had an odd suspicion that his family might of have something to do with it; it certainly seemed like the kind of thing they would do. Even after completing his training they were always so worried about him. It kinda felt good that even after becoming all powerful they still cared about him. He'd never say that out loud though. His sisters would never let him hear the end of it.

Anyway, the flower shop. It was the closest thing to actual gardening that he could find at the moment, at least until an actual gardening job opened up.

For the most part he didn't get to actually grow any of the flowers; he just tended to them while helping out any customers that came through the door. The shop sold all sorts of flowers from all around the world, something that Jaune found to be very impressive. Apparently the old couple's son was a world traveling Hunter who sent them seeds from the various places he visited.

His name was Tyrian and they ended up showing him a few of his "best" pictures, their words not his. And while the older couple gushed about their son to him every chance they got, privately Jaune thought the guy looked a bit creepy. His smile was way too wide to be normal. He made sure not to say that out loud though.

So Jaune kinda liked his job at the flower shop. The couple was nice, the customers were polite, and he liked tending to the flowers.

He couldn't say the same thing about his second job at Junior's Club though.

His sister Cyan had been the one to get him the job.

"It's kinda a skeevy place, but it pays well," she said. "And I know you need all the money you can get since you're flat broke."

"Do Mom and Dad know that you used to work here?" Jaune asked. He was pretty sure that at least half of the people in this place were criminals. He was also sure that a good three thirds of the people in the club had some sort of weapon on them. "It doesn't seem like the type of thing they would approve of."

"Of course they don't know, Jaune." She rolled her eyes. "Glad to see that all that power you have didn't make you any smarter."

"Hey!"

"And I only worked here for like, a month. And even then it was part time. All they had me do was throw out anyone who was causing trouble and make sure no one was getting their drinks drugged. Shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

"I dunno... maybe I should try out for that janitor's spot down in -"

"Jaune, you are not going to become a fucking janitor. Bad enough that you want to be a gardener." Cyan shook her head and took out a cigarette, idly lighting it as her younger brother started to protest.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with -"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She waved her hand dismissively. "Gardening is love, gardening is life, we've heard it all before. Look, just take the job. It's part time, it won't cut into the job you have at the flower place, and it pays good money. You can always back out later if you think you're getting in too deep. Junior may be a bit of a perverted ass, but he's not a douchebag. If you give him some heads up before you quit, he won't make a bit fuss out of it."

Jaune found his resolve weakening. He thought about the rent that was due and how he hadn't eaten anything more than ramen noodles for the past few weeks and gave in. "Well...okay. But only for a little while."

"Cool. Just make sure to keep the property damage to a minimum. Do not fuck the place up."

"Oh come on! I don't do that anymore." Jaune folded his arms in a huff.

"Right. Of course you don't. And I'm sure that mountain you destroyed down near Haven would agree with you." She snuffed out her cigarette. "Anyway, here's you're uniform. Be there at eight tonight and try not to be late, or else Junior will dock your pay. See ya, little bro." She mussed up his hair as she walked away.

"Bye, Cyan."

So he arrived at the club in a suit, exactly on time. His new boss, Junior, looked unimpressed. Especially when Jaune accidentally tripped over one of the stools and almost crashed into one of the customers. He managed to control his strength enough so that he didn't accidentally destroy anything, but he still managed to make himself look bad in front of his boss on his first night.

Still, his boss instructed him to stay at the bar and watch out for any troublemakers. And for a good few hours, things were pretty much quiet. No one was pulling any guns on anyone, there weren't any fights, and for the most part everyone was talking and dancing like normal. Jaune had diligently watched the place for the first few minutes but became bored after a while when nothing was happening. He had taken how his scroll and was busy reading through some of his favorite superhero comics when he noticed someone walking up to him.

"Hey, hotstuff."

Yang grinned at the flustered look the guy gave her. He was tall, and from the looks of it had a good six inches on her. He was dressed up in a suit, just like a lot of men in the club only his was a bit different. A bit more uniform. If she had to guess, he was probably the bouncer. Didn't look like much but as a Huntress, she knew looks could be deceiving.

"Who me?"

"Yeah, you." She took a step closer, her smile widening at the hint of blush on his face. "I'm looking for someone. You think you can help me out?"

"Oh. Um, I can try my best. Who're you looking for?"

"A guy named Junior. The owner of the club. He and I have a bit of... business we need to carry out." She didn't know much about the guy, but what little she could figure out told her that he was the man who knew everything. And a man who knew everything could help her figure out where her mother is.

"Oh, Junior? I think he might have left."

"Excuse me?" Yang frowned and examined the guy. He looked like he was honestly telling the truth. Even seemed a bit apologetic. "Well, do you know where he is?"

The guy scratched the back of his head and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, no. He, ah, just told me to watch the place while he was gone. Said something about needed to meet someone."

He could just be covering for his boss, though she really couldn't imagine why. She made sure to be a little discrete when she started asking around. Plus, the guy didn't look like that good of a liar. "Do you know when he'll be back?" She leaned forward, and watched in amusement as he blushed deeper.

"Um, he'll probably be back later tonight. Maybe. Why, do you need something from him?" he asked.

Yang thought for a moment, and then figured that it couldn't hurt. "Yeah, I'm looking for some information on this woman." She took out her scroll and showed him the picture of her mother. He probably wouldn't know anything, but she might as well as cover all her bases.

He glanced down at the picture and said nonchalantly, "Oh, I've met her before."

 _"What?!"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: A Meeting**

 _A year and a half into his training, Jaune started to take up traveling._

 _Not every major disaster or Grimm based catastrophe happened within sight of his house after all. As a Hunter, he felt that it was his duty to go out and find those in need, wherever they may be. There had to be some people in the world who could use his help after all. And while his family were against the idea of his going out on his own, they relented once he told them that he would stay in touch and call them everyday._

 _One day he was idly walking through the woods when he came across a small village, just near the boarders of Anima. Curious and a bit hungry for something other than little woodland creatures, Jaune had visited the place. And as it turns out, the little village of Beckton had a problem. Namely, bandits._

 _A bandit tribe had set up camp close by, and were pillaging the neighboring villages for food and Dust. To make matters worse, the fear and negative emotions ended up attracting various forms of Grimm to their village. With all of their efforts spent of beating away the Grimm, the villagers feared that they would be unable to protect themselves when the bandits eventually attacked._

 _The people of Beckton sent several messages to various Huntsman Stations, hoping to employ a Hunter that could help solve their problem. Unfortunately for them, the Hunters they had hired were arriving much later than expected. They believed that by the time their help arrived, it would be too late._

 _So Jaune decided to help them out._

 _Beating back the Grimm was easy enough to do. None of them were that strong, and it usually took him no more than a single punch for him to kill them. The bandits were another story. They seemed to have realized that they were being followed and had erased most of their tracks, making it harder for Jaune to find them through conventional means._

 _Fortunately for Jaune, he wasn't the most conventional person. His training increased his strength and speed immensely, but it also increased something else: his senses._

 _So instead of wasting time trying to find the bandits with his horrible tracking skills, he simply focused on his hearing while in the middle of the woods and tried to listen for their heartbeats. And after several false starts he was slowly but surely able to figure out where they were._

 _He arrived in the middle of a clearing and immediately got ambushed on all sides by knife wielding children._

 _Apparently the adults and children of the bandit tribe decided to split up in order to draw his attention. The kids would lead him back towards an isolated clearing while the adults would go back and assault the village. Their reasoning was that even if he defeated all of the kids, he still wouldn't have enough time to go back and save the villagers._

 _Jaune was a bit horrified by this, and made sure not to hurt the kids too bad when he knocked some of them out. He knew logically that it needed to be done, but he still felt a bit horrible when he knocked a bunch of kids around. Yeah they were trying to stab him, but they were still kids! They probably didn't even know any better._

 _That did leave him with a bit of a dilemma though. He didn't want to leave a bunch of kids behind in a Grimm infested forest... but he still needed to save the people in the village. Ultimately, he decided to leave a few conscious to defend themselves and ran as fast as he could back to Beckton. He didn't even bother dodging the trees in his way and simply plowed through them._

 _He arrived at the village just in time to see a bunch of adults exit a... was that a red portal? How did a red portal get there?_

 _One woman who was wearing a Grimm mask that reminded him of the White Fang was holding an incredibly long red sword. With a single swipe the portal disappeared._

 _He kinda wanted a sword like that. It would save him a lot of time on running if he could just open up portals to wherever he wanted._

 _"Step aside, boy," the woman said. At her side the other bandits readied their weapons. "This does not concern you."_

 _"You guys are the bandits, right? Then it does concern me." He readied his fists and charged._

 _Though he couldn't see it, Jaune could tell that the woman was smirking. "So be it."_

 _The ensuing fight was one of the more challenging fights in his career as a Hunter, though that was as expected. The thing about most enemy Hunters that Jaune interacted with was that each and every one of them seemed to have a special ability or fighting style to go with their unique look. He wasn't exactly sure why, since his parents had never really explained that aspect of Hunter culture to him. Nor did they explain what the hell "Aura" was, or why Hunters seemed to get so worked up about it all the time. Maybe it was another word for Dust?_

 _Did every Hunter have a superpower of their own? If so, then what was his superpower? He hoped it was something cool like being able to fly. It would save him time on running everywhere._

 _So for most of the bandits he was able to power through. Their superpowers, while varied, weren't really able to affect him much. A few good punches and they were out for the count. No, it was the portal woman he was having the most trouble with._

 _She just kept using her sword to portal around the place. Every time he almost seemed to get his hands on her she would disappear into a portal and reappear somewhere else. It didn't help that she kept throwing these weird red bombs at him every few seconds that blew everything up, making things hard to see and giving her more time to escape._

 _At one point he did manage to break her mask, revealing her face for a good few seconds before she tried blowing him up again. It was honestly starting to piss him off. He didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted to knock her out and bring her to the authorities. But with every second that she disappeared only to reappear somewhere far away he was becoming more and more tempted to just beat her up._

 _Hopefully his sisters would never find out about this._

 _But after a while, the woman started to get visibly tired. One wrong misstep and Jaune was finally able to get his hands on that stupid sword. It shattered in his grip and he was able to get a good look at the woman's shocked face before he struck out with his fist. Unfortunately, his aim was thrown off when he was yanked back by an invisible force, the shockwave of his fist leveling a good portion of the forest instead of breaking the woman's jaw. Another pulse and Jaune found himself flying backwards, hitting several trees along the way._

 _When he finally stood up, no worse for wear, the woman was gone._

"I think I still have that mask and some of those sword bits back at my apartment. I tried to make a portal sword out of it but it didn't work."

Yang could feel a headache coming on. She wasn't sure if she wanted to punch this guy into next week, destroy everything around her, or just go home and call it a day. She settled on calling this guy out on his bullshit. "That has to be the dumbest thing I've _ever_ heard."

The guy looked insulted. "It's true! Why would I lie?"

"I dunno, maybe to impress a beautiful young woman like myself?" She batted her eyelashes at him and he blushed harder. She smirked before getting back to business. "Look, I don't have time for games. Just tell me where your boss is or else," she cracked her knuckles, "this might get ugly."

"I am telling the truth though! And I can't fight while I'm on the job, or else my boss will fire me." The guy paused. "And my sister would kill me, since she's the one who got me this job in the first place."

Yang growled and fisted a hand in the guy's shirt, yanking him down to her level. "Look buddy, you're really starting to piss me off. Just tell me where Junior is before I-"

"You looking for me, Blondie?" She turned around to see a tall man with a beard and red sunglasses walking towards her. "Because I don't appreciate underaged punks like you causing trouble in my club."

Yang grinned at him, mockingly raising her hands in the universal sign of peace. "Chill, Junior. I just wanted to ask some information."

Junior arched an eyebrow. "Funny, I don't feel like giving any today. Kid, do your job and get her out of here."

"Uh, boss, wouldn't it be easier to just give her the information? I mean, she's probably a Huntress. She could cause a lot of damage to the club when she resists."

"Did I _ask_ you for your opinion?"

"Uh -"

"Then shut it and get her outta -"

Yang, having heard enough, immediately punched Junior in the sternum, sending him flying across the club and crashing to a glass window. Almost immediately the music stopped and random bystanders started screaming and running out of the club, trying to get away from the ensuing fight. Out of seemingly nowhere a bunch of guys in identical suits started running towards her direction, each of them armed with all sorts of knives and axes. they were too far away to be a threat to her now, so she decided to take out the closest guy in her way.

She whirled around and sent a flying kick directly at the bouncer's head - only for him to catch it with one hand. He sent her a confused look. "Is this really necessary -"

She wrenched her foot out of his hand and punched him in the face. He didn't even bother dodging and flew into the air before landing on his feet, completely unharmed. "Huh. You're a sturdy one, aren't you?" She unveiled her Ember Celicas and got into a fighting stance.

The bouncer, on the other hand, just gave her a disbelieving look. "Are we _seriously_ doing this?"

She didn't answer, instead launching herself at him with a flying punch.

"Aw, man. I'm _so_ gonna get fired for this."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: The Bar Fight**

Though he never really acted like it, Jaune was actually a pretty decent strategist. He knew how to find weaknesses, calculate odds, and come up with a good plan to take care of an enemy. He just never really used strategy all that much anymore since, well, he didn't need to. No one was really strong enough to actually be much of a threat to him and every fight he involved himself in usually ended in a single punch.

That being said, there was one major reason why he didn't punch the Huntress in the face and call it a day. And that was because he... didn't really have complete control over his strength.

It was a problem that he really didn't like talking about, simply because of how _embarrassing_ it was. Like, he could control himself enough so that he didn't automatically destroy everything around him just by moving, but when it came to fights with people he _didn't_ want to turn into a fine paste his control became a bit iffy.

People were just so fragile; one little tap and they would just end up exploding all over the place. Something that he, unfortunately, learned from experience. What was worse was that Hunters were clearly different from the average thug. They were more durable and had their own unique superpowers... for some reason. And since each and every Hunter was different from each other, it became rather hard for Jaune to gauge just what level of punch they could take.

Some Hunters that he fought against could take a whole punch and still get up standing. Others... not so much. And Jaune couldn't immediately tell which type of Hunter this blonde haired Huntress was.

And that didn't even get into the whole property damage issue. His parents had grounded him enough for it to sink in that excessive property damage while in the middle of Hunting was _not_ okay. And Jaune figured that letting the club get destroyed while on his first day on the job would be even worse.

So, he had two goals: get the Huntress out of the club and try to figure out how much damage she could take so he could effectively knock her out. Simple.

Jaune grabbed the arm heading straight for him and blinked when the Huntress's gauntlet let out a shotgun blast right into his face. Rubbing the Dust out of his eyes with his right hand, he used his left to gently toss the girl out of the club door. She smashed through the doors and destroyed a good section of the club wall because, like an idiot, he completely forgot that the doors were closed. _Dammit._

He hoped that Junior wouldn't make him pay for the damages.

* * *

Okay, the guy was a bit stronger than she expected. And a bit more durable too, if he could take one of her blasts to the fact and not flinch. And maybe a good portion of her Aura was shaved off when she was thrown through the doors. No big deal, she's been through worse.

Now if only she could get a chance to get her breath then she'd be ready to kick some ass.

"Yang? What happened?!"

Oh shit.

"H-hey, sis!" She stumbled to her feet and tried to look nonchalant. "How you doing?"

"What are you doing here?" Her cute little sister took a step forward, looking all concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"Ah, you know me." She winced a bit and ten tried to hide as she slowly stood up. "Nothing can bring me down for long!"

"Oh good, you're alright." She whipped around, arms up and ready when she saw the bouncer standing in the middle of what was left of the club entrance. "I could have sworn I almost broke something."

"Yang, whose that?" Ruby asked. She looked confused, staring at the two of them, but had her weapon at the ready. "Did you break something again?"

"Yes she did. She totally broke the club," the bouncer answered, gesturing backwards.

"Yang! Why would you do that? You know you're just going to get in trouble again!"

"What? No! Rubes, he's lying! _He_ threw _me_ through the doors, I didn't break 'em! Which, by the way?" She cocked her gauntlets and narrowed her eyes. " _Not_ cool."

"Hey, I wouldn't have done it if you didn't punch my boss through a pillar! I'm probably gonna get _fired_ now." He ran his fingers through his hair. " _Man_ , Cyan's gonna kill me."

"Not if I do it first." She cocked her first back, preparing to launch herself forwards once more. The bouncer didn't look the slightest bit worried; hell, he didn't even go for a weapon. He just stood there with that dumb worried look on his face, mumbling to himself. She was pretty sure he didn't even hear her.

She could feel her hair starting to get hot. She _hated_ being underestimated.

"Okay, okay, wait!" Her sister jumped in between them, hands outstretched. "Yang! Guy who made Yang mad! There's no need to fight! Can't we just talk this out like calm, civilized -"

"Hey, kid!" Junior stepped out of the ruined doors, flanked by several dozen of his men. He was carrying a huge bazooka on his right shoulder that was pointed directly at them. "You're fired!" He pulled the trigger and fired off a stream of rockets.

"Aw, come on!"

Yang dodged out of the way, her sis following soon after. The bouncer dude, meanwhile, didn't move from his position and was hit dead on.

* * *

Jaune didn't bother dodging out of the way, too busy being bothered over the fact that he got fired after the first day on the job. Dammit, now where else was he supposed to work? Maybe he could take that janitor spot; as far as he could tell the position was still open. He couldn't tell Cyan about it though or she'd throw a fit.

The rockets impacted and, like always, didn't hurt him in the slightest. Didn't even singe his uniform. He wondered what Junior did to get clothes this sturdy. Maybe there was a special Hunter material or something?

"What?!"

Oh yeah. He should probably take care of his now ex-boss since he _did_ try to kill him just now. How hard should he punch him though? He looked pretty tough, so he could probably take a small punch right?

"What are you idiots looking at? Get hi-"

Jaune nodded and clenched his fist. Yeah, Junior'll probably be alright. He needed to hurry home anyway; it was time to water his cactus.

He drew back and _punched_.

The shockwave of the single strike blew everything away in an instant. One second he was being surrounded, the next windows shattered and walls crumbled as the bodies of Junior and his men were _launched_ forward at incredible speeds. There was no stopping it, no getting out of the way of the wave of destruction that - within just a few seconds - completely _alienated_ the knowledge broker's club. The sheer force of the blow sent pretty much everything flying - including the two Huntresses behind him.

Seconds later it was over, leaving nothing but several dozen unconscious bodies, possible thousands of dollars in property damage, and Jaune standing in the middle of it all.

Staring at the damage his punch had caused, Jaune said a single, solitary phrase.

"I am _not_ paying for that."

And he walked away, thoughts of plants and what type of seeds he needed to buy at the store running through his mind.


	5. Interlude: A Concerned Mother

**Interlude: A Concerned Mother**

 _He was barely breathing. With every shuttering breath Aidan could feel the tightness in her chest grow stronger. And as much as she wanted to look away, she felt as though she were frozen, eyes locked on the one thing she feared the most._

 _He looked so small. So... fragile. As though with the slightest of touches he would shatter into a millions pieces._

 _The doctors weren't sure if he would wake up._

 _Her son had suffered from relapses before. Moments where his health just seemed to take a turn for the worse. But never like this. Never this_ bad _._

 _Would... would she lose him this time?_

 _Her beautiful little boy... he was so strong. He kept_ fighting _, braver than any Hunter she had known. He never gave up even when everyone - even her - secretly thought he wouldn't make it. It made her ashamed, to think she would give up on him. It made her proud, knowing that he would keep going long even when everyone thought he would fall._

 _But now..._

 _It looked as though the fight was coming to an end._

 _She reached out with a trembling hand and placed it over his. She could feel the bones in his fingers and she forced herself to hold the tears in. She needed to be strong. Her husband, her daughters... she needed to put on a brave face for them. She couldn't -_ wouldn't _let them think this was the end._

 _He wouldn't of wanted her to._

* * *

She woke up to a wet pillow and tears running down her face.

It was a normal occurrence for her. She had lost much throughout her long life and sometimes during her weaker moments, that loss took hold of her. Made her vulnerable.

The memory of that day... she didn't like thinking about it. Wouldn't think about it. Because it didn't matter. Her son was fine now; healthier than ever.

There was nothing to be worried about.

She shouldn't bother him. He didn't need his mother calling him early in the morning.

She should just go back to sleep. Everything was alright...

"Hello?"

"Jaune?" There was a little bit of waver in her voice that she couldn't immediately suppress.

"Oh, hey Mom. What's wrong?" He sounded so worried about her. Then again, he was always worried about his family these days. So overprotective; it reminded her of her husband.

"I'm just calling to see how you're doing. Living alone is a big step and I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Oh things are fine. I got a new job down at this flower place and the couple there are really nice." A sigh. "They keep pinching my cheeks though. And laughing when I ask them to stop."

She laughed a bit.

"Mom!"

"Sorry, dear. So, what about you're other job?"

"Uh, what?" She heard him fumbling around with something in the background. Probably another one of those gardening tools he collected. It was about the time where he usually replanted some of his flowers.

"You're job at that club, Cyan told us about? She said that you needed to get a second job because you were having some money problems."

"Uh..." She could just imagine him squirming. Her eyes narrowed.

"Honey, you know you can always come to us if you need help. Your father and I would love to support you."

"It's fine Mom, really! Things are... a bit tight, but it's no big deal. I'll just need to manage things a bit better, that's all."

She frowned. "Well, if you're sure..."

"I _am_ , Mom. Seriously, its fine."

"I still want you to stop by sometime tomorrow. You left some laundry back at home that you need to pick up." It certainly wasn't an excuse for her to see him again. To make sure that he was _really_ alright.

"Really? I could have sworn I got all of it."

"No, you still have some of those bunny T-shirts lets in the hamper."

"Mom! They're _rabbits_ , not bunnies!" he insisted. As though that would make it better.

She suppressed a smile. Still her little boy. "Whatever you say, dear."

"Ugh. Bye, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Jaune." Click.

* * *

It would take her some time to banish those memories.

Fourteen years of seeing her son slowly die in front of her wasn't something that she could just get over right away.

"Hey, Mom." Her son smiled at her, whole and healthy. She drew him into a hug and he gently patted her back, as though _she_ were the fragile one.

"Hi, Jaune." She kissed him on the cheek and ushered him into the house. "Your clothes are right over here. So, how did your job at that club go?"

He became sheepish. "Uh..."

But so long as her son was alive and healthy... she felt that she could deal with it.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: A Meeting**

His mother had not been happy when he told her about how he got fired.

Neither was Cyan.

" _Thanks_ , bro. Now I'm up shit creak with Mom and Dad because you blabbed!" She glared. "They think I'm a fucking criminal now."

"Hey, that is _not_ my fault." He folded his arms and glared back. " _You_ should have told me the place was a criminal's cesspool."

"A 'criminal's cesspool'? Seriously, Jaune?" She lit up a cigarette, her movements jerky and full of anger. "Was that why you destroyed the place? Because it harmed your delicate sensibilities?"

"N-" Jaune stopped himself before he told her the truth. His sister was already mad. There was no telling how pissed she would get if she found out that he did it on accident. "Yes. Yes it did. And because Junior was trying to kill me."

Cyan was too angry over the loss of her favorite hang out spot to call out her little brother on his obvious lie. "You are so fucking glad that I didn't give him your name, or else you would be paying for the damages right now. Ugh, now where else are you gonna work?"

"Well-"

"You are not working as a janitor, Jaune! I won't allow it; it's too lame. No, you need something more exciting than what you got going on now." She took a drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke into his face. "And as soon as I figure out what that exciting job is, I'll let you know."

He wrinkled his nose and went to open up a window. "Can you not do that in here? I don't want my apartment smelling like smoke."

"Don't worry, I'm leaving." She stood up and headed out the door. "Just wait until tomorrow. I'll find you a _good_ job. Just don't fuck this one up like you did Junior's, yeah?"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay."

"You promise?"

"I'll - try my best?"

She stared at him for a minute, before sighing. "Yeah, I guess that's good enough. Bye, bro."

"Bye, sis."

"And get rid of that suit," she gestured towards his uniform. "Anyone sees that and they'll probably connect the dots. You don't want anyone coming after you so you can pay the damages after all."

Jaune looked down at his suit before looking back up at his sister. "Oh come on. It's just a suit, it can't be _that_ distinct."

"You'd be surprised. Just get rid of it."

Jaune sighed as the door closed.

Peace at last. Now he could _finally_ tend to his plants without any distractions.

As of right now he only had a few dozen plants and flowers in his apartment. Most of them were flowers; shrimp plants, some flowering maples, orchids, clivias, a few roses here and there. He had at least two cacti in the kitchen, and a fern near the bathroom. The bonsai tree he kept near his bed, since he liked tending to that one the most. He liked the way the plant looked when sun just peeked out from his bedroom curtains. So majestic.

Now that he got a good look at it, the mini trees has been getting a bit unruly lately. He should trim the leaves a bit.

Rummaging through his closet, Jaune took out a sleek black case. Opening up reveled a wide variety of gardening supplies, all shining clean and razor sharp. He always tried to maintain his tools, and made sure to clean and polish them at least three times a week. He didn't want them getting rusty and dull after all. Taking out a pair of hedge trimmers, Jaune -

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Goddammit.

"Who is it?" he called out. No one answered for a moment, before the knocking cam again, this time much more insistent.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." He grumbled a bit before opening the door. "What do you - Amber?"

A cloaked hand roughly pushed him back and he went with it, too confused to even protest. The door was quickly shut before the cloaked figure removed her hood, revealing brown hair, a single brown eye, and a deeply scarred face. "Jaune. It's been a while."

"What are you -"

"Look. Jaune, I-I need your help." She was visibly shaking as she removed the rest of her cloak before setting it down on a nearby chair.

She looked like she hadn't gotten any rest in a while. She was pale, had bags underneath her single human eye, and her scar looked fresh, as though she had been attacked recently. She was also incredibly thin, too thin to be healthy. Which made the metal device on her chest stand out all the more against her skinny frame.

It was located right where her bellybutton used to be. It was a small, metal hatch just big enough to fit a fist into. It was sunken into her skin, making it slightly inflamed around the edges where her skin and the metal had fused. The hatch radiated heat, hot enough to burn anyone who touched it. She wasn't affected of course; she never was when it came to fire. Not really surprising considering what she was.

Her left eye was gone, replaced with a robotic one that stared at him in a way that he found to be slightly creepy. It reminded Jaune of the Grimm in that it was bright red and never blinked. It didn't help that the tar like scaring around the eye only highlighted how inhuman it looked when compared to the rest of her face.

"Amber, what are you doing here? I thought you were hiding out in Mistral?" She looked as though she were going to collapse any second. He helped her sit down in a nearby chair. "You do _not_ look good."

"Well, thanks for being honest," she said, giving him a shaky smile. She rested her metal arm on his table, making a clanging sound against the wood. He noticed how rusty some parts of it were. Clearly she hasn't been taking good care of it. Or herself.

"Do you need me to get you something to eat, or..?"

"No, I'm fine." She noticed the look Jaune was giving her and tried to assure him. "Really, I'm good. I know I look a bit bad right now, but that's only because I'm runnin' out of Dust."

"What?" He sat up, peering down at the hatch in her stomach. "I thought the old man supplied you with some? Said it would last you a few years until he could figure out a solution."

"Yeah, well, it turns out the doctor's calculations were off a bit." She tapped the hatch on her stomach with her human hand and gave him a rueful smile. "I burned through the stuff faster than either of us would have thought. Only lasted me a few months before I started to burn out. Had to pick up a few jobs here and there to make ends meet."

"Amber, why are you coming to me with this _now_? If you'd have told either of us earlier-"

"I didn't want to bother you two," she interrupted. She stared down at the counter, and wouldn't meet his eyes. "You and the doctor... already did so much for me. Got yourselves involved in _my_ mess. The doctor can't defend himself and while I know _you_ can... your family can't. I woulda just brought trouble. Besides, it was _my_ problem. _My_ fight to win. I wanted to be the one to give that bitch what's coming to her and I didn't want anyone else gettin' involved. But now... I got no choice."

She took a deep breath. "There's a train that's gonna be runnin' through Forever Fall in a few days that's carryin' load of Dust. I wanna know if you'll help me steal it."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: A Train Ride**

It was a peaceful place.

The snow crunched underfoot while he walked, as blood red leaves fell from above. It was like something out a dream, to see nothing but beautiful flowers and untouched trees surrounding him on all sides. Jaune felt as though he could spend hours just standing here, taking it all in.

The trees of Forever Fall really were beautiful things, what with leaves red like roses. He remembered reading up on it once, how scientists weren't sure why the forests were always the same color red no matter what the season. Some believed that it was because of some sort of underground Dust that affected the plants, while others believed that it was just the way the land naturally was. Personally, Jaune didn't really care _how_ the forests looked so beautiful, only that it _was_.

It was so quiet here. Nothing like the chaos that was his life back home. He didn't have to worry about money, or jobs, or fighting against some random weirdo or Grimm. He could just stay here, and bask in the beauty that was nature. Maybe when he got the chance, he could -

"Jaune."

He snapped out of it. "Wha?"

"Jaune, it's time to go." Amber gestured downwards at the edge of the cliff to where the train was slowly approaching, her hand noticeably shaking. She was breathing hard, as though they had run for miles. "Got your mask?"

"Oh, yeah. Right." He sighed a bit as he covered the lower half of his face with a dark piece of cloth and raised his hood, wondering just why he got himself into situations like these. He gave one last longing look to the beautiful forest and then nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Blake, logically, knew that this mission wasn't going to be easy.

The Schnees may have been cruel, money hungry racists, but that didn't mean they were stupid. They were bound to have some sort of protection to do with their cargo, considering the amount of Dust the train was carrying. Especially since the White Fang was known to hit their Dust supply before. And when she and her partner were attacked by several dozen robots seconds after breaking in, she figured that she would face more of the same the deeper they went in. Nothing she couldn't handle by herself, let alone with Adam watching her back.

So when the two of them broke into the next car, she was not expecting to come face to face with a couple of masked humans trying to steal the Dust for themselves.

She and Adam immediately raised their weapons, making sure to keep their distance from the unknown threats. Infuriatingly enough, the two humans didn't even bother raising their guards or dropping the cases full of Dust that they had in each hand, though Blake did notice the girl trembling a bit. Was she scared?

"Who the hell are you?" her partner snarled. He looked as though he was going to attack at any second. She knew how he could be when it came to humans, how... ruthless he could become when he came near a perceived threat. She witnessed the results of his rampages more that she would have liked. And human or no, she didn't want that to happen to these two. To anyone, be they human or faunus.

"Drop the cases and we'll let you leave." She didn't bother looking at Adam, knowing that he was probably glaring at her from beneath his mask. "We don't want any trouble."

The girl spoke up. "White Fang, right?" Her arms were trembling even more now, and she looked as though she were struggling to stand. Blake felt a pang of pity for the poor girl; she probably didn't even know what she was getting into when she tried to steal the Dust. Maybe she was just a thief who saw an opportunity? "I'd ask what you're doin' on a Schnee train, but it's pretty obvious."

"Give us the cases," Adam unsheathed his sword, "and we _may_ let you live."

She immediately protested. Didn't he see that they were just civilians? "Adam we don't need to -"

He didn't even turn to look at her. "Be quiet Blake. Go to the next car. I'll handle this." He fully unsheathed his sword and walked towards the two. The girl took a shaky step back while the guy immediately stepped in front of her, fists raised. She felt her heart sink over the pathetic sight; the guy wasn't even holding himself right, he wasn't a fighter. He wouldn't stand a chance against Adam.

She couldn't just let this happen. She needed to -

 _BOOM._

* * *

Jaune didn't bother looking at the weird spider robot thing that had somehow entered the train car without breaking through the door. No, his eyes were all on the jerk in the Grimm mask.

He looked like he could take a punch. Maybe even _two_.

Unfortunately for Jaune the White Fang jerk decided to fight against the spider robot, along with the cat girl. It was throwing beams everywhere which was pretty annoying and Jaune had to pull Amber out of the way more than once. Speaking of, she was looking even worse than she did a few seconds ago. It might be time to just grab the Dust and leave before he finds himself in yet _another_ fight again.

Bodily picking Amber up and throwing her over his shoulder, he quickly grabbed as many cases of Dust that he could hold and booked it out of the car, making sure to kick the metal door out of his way.

The chaos followed after him, with the spider robot shooting even more lasers while the Grimm jerk yelled at the girl about doing something or another. Jaune wasn't listening, he was too busy trying to balance all the cases as well as Amber all at once. It didn't help that Amber fainted at some point, meaning that he couldn't set her down for a second while he tried to sort all the baggage out.

He was about to jump off the train when -

 _SHNNK._

It was like everything was in slow motion. One moment the train was rushing past a beautiful red forest, the next _gone_. A single swipe of that jerk's sword and dozens of trees were sliced apart, not even getting the chance to hit the ground before turning into dust and fading through the wind. Jaune didn't even notice that the spider robot got sliced as well, too busy replaying the scene in his mind.

All those beautiful trees... gone forever.

The Grimm guy then turned around... and smirked right at him.

Jaune saw red.

* * *

Adam let out a breath and stood up. That had been a bit more difficult than expected, but nothing he couldn't handle. Now all he needed to do was -

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!"

It was his only warning and even then, he could barely react. All he managed to do was raise his sword up towards the man who was suddenly _right in his face -_

-watched his sword break before he felt the hard fist impact his mask-

Blackness.

* * *

Jaune glared at the tiny speck on the horizon that was the Grimm jerk, before turning to glare directly at the cat girl. She had a shocked look on her face and immediately raised her weapons in defense, taking a step back.

"Treat trees with respect!"

And then he jumped off the train.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: A Time For Recovery**

Amber woke up to someone liftin' up her shirt.

She immediately started strugglin', lifting her arms to try to push this mystery pervert away from her so she could -

"Oh hey, Amber. You okay?"

She relaxed. "Jaune. You scared me." She opened her eye, her vision blurry and out of focus. Her other eye wasn't activated yet, probably because she didn't have enough Dust in her system. "You get the Dust?"

"Yep. Five cases." She could feel him openin' up the hatch in her stomach and insertin' something inside. The relief was instant: her stiff, pain filled limbs immediately relaxed, and what felt like a soothing balm spread throughout her body. The deep, aching feelin' deep within her soul lessened, going down to a small pulse and a feeling of slight hunger. Her eye slowly started to come online, a line of code filling her vision for a brief second before she could see clearly.

She sighed in relief and started to sit up. "I'll take it from here."

"You gonna be okay?" He was sittin' right next to her, what seemed to be a white rose in his hand. "You looked really bad for a second there."

She nodded and turned towards the nearest case of Dust. A quick check told her that there had to be at least forty pieces in there. With five cases and each piece of Dust no doubt being of high quality, it would last her a few months so long as she only took two a day. She added another Dust crystal to her hatch and shuddered at the feeling of strength in her limbs. Power that had been with her for as long as she could remember came to the front of her mind and up above, she could feel the clouds shift in response.

She stood up and cracked her neck. "'m fine. How'd things go when I passed out?"

He shrugged, starin' down at the flower in his palm. "Not too bad. I punched that one Grimm guy before we left. Never mind that though, look at what I found! I didn't even know they were natural in this climate!"

She gave it a cursory glance before closing the case. "Yeah, it's a pretty flower. You gonna help me with these?"

Jaune looked deeply insulted. "A pretty flower? It's not JUST a pretty flower! It's a white rose! Growing in the snow! You don't think that's amazing?"

"Yeah, yeah. Amazin'. Come on, we gotta get back home before we get arrested." Amber hated breakin' out of jail. It usually took a lot of Maiden power to break out of the Aura suppressin' cuffs they placed on her. Usin' up a lot of Maiden power ended up usin' up a lot of the Dust she used to keep her together, which then meant she needed to get more Dust. And in Mistral, good quality Dust cost too much money for her to afford. So she ended up stealin' it, and she'd sometimes get caught and end up in the cycle all over again.

She tuned out her partner's friend's babblin' about white roses and their meanin' and kept an eye on the woods around them. She knew better than anyone that Jaune's senses could be incredible at times; it was downright impossible to sneak up on him even when he was talkin' about his dang plants. So if someone was watchin' them, he would find them in a heartbeat. Still, she wanted to be prepared just in case. She activated the x-ray feature in her eye and kept watch, always on guard against any hidden threat.

It wasn't paranoia if there really was crazy fire bitches, cyborgs, and green haired illusionists out to get you.

* * *

"So how long is all this Dust going to last you?"

They were hanging out at his apartment after walking back from Forever Fall. Well, running and flying was more like it. Jaune could run incredibly fast if he so wanted while Amber was able to fly with her virgin powers. He kinda wanted to stay back and take a few pictures of the forest, but Amber started getting mad and he was forced to abandon that plan. What was worse was that he couldn't even go back there for another few weeks according to Amber. Said something about "letting the heat die down" or whatever.

It made him a bit grumpy, at least until he got back home and started replanting the white rose he picked. Just the thought of waking up to see full grown white roses by the side of his bed made him feel giddy. It was like his birthday and Christmas all at once!

"Three or so months if I don't do much of anythin'. A little over a month if I get into fights." Amber was fixing up her arm. Some of the parts were really rusted and she had spent some time using the steel iron wool to scrape the rust away.

He frowned and looked up from his flower pot. "That's not long. Did you talk to the doctor about it? Maybe he can fix you up a bit more."

She shook her head. "Like I said, I don't wanna get him involved. He's an old man and a scientist, not a fighter. He wouldn't stand a chance against that bitch and her posse if they got wind of him. Hell, I shouldn't even be talkin' to you, let alone askin' you to help me out."

He shrugged and gave her a smile. "Hey what are friends for, right? Besides, I can handle myself."

"Well yeah. But I'm talkin' about your family." She gestured towards a screwdriver and he handed it to her. She started fiddling with the components in her arm, curing a bit when the tips of her fingers scraped against some of the sharper parts.

"All of my sisters are trained Huntresses while my parents are veteran Hunters. They can fight." He prodded the soil and added some water. Hmm, the rose might need some support. Might need to buy some ties and a few small pieces of wood at the market. Where did he put those coupons again?

"Well, can they fight against someone like that fire bitch?" she asked.

"Probably. She wasn't that tough." Jaune completely missed the disbelieving look Amber sent him. "All she could do was spout fire everywhere and fly a bit. Her friends were just as weak. All one could do was shoot things from his feet while dancing everywhere. And that green girl just stared at me and looked shocked when I hit her."

"...huh." She stopped fiddling with her arm. "You know Jaune, I never did ask you what happened back there when you saved my ass. How did they get away, anyway?"

"Well..."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: The One That Got Away**

 _Jaune had never gone to a costume party before. Never really had the time to, actually. He was either too busy sick or too busy punching Grimm to ever go to one._

 _So he was pleasantly surprised when the people from the village he currently saved invited him to their annual costume party. Only this time it was in celebration for being saved from the Grimm and he was the guest of honor. It was really fun too! They had all sorts of games, prizes, and they were even selling these really cool flowers that glowed in the dark. He never even knew there could be flowers like that, and spent at least three hours talking to the one to gathered the flowers, asking about where he got them and how to care for them. The guy even handed him a pack of seeds, for free._

 _He felt a bit out of place at first, since he didn't have a costume like everyone else did. One old woman with flowers in her hair ended up giving him a cloak that she made for her son. The guy was apparently out of town for business so she decided to give it to him instead. Apparently it was made with a special form of dust that would put the wearer's features in constant shadow. It was a bit more intimidating than he would have liked, but he loved the way a shadowy mist seemed to form every time he walked somewhere. He didn't even know clothes could be made like that._

 _At some point he found himself getting challenged to a drinking contest by some guy with a huge sword on his back and a scruffy beard. The guy said something about testing out the mettle of the "village hero" or something and before Jaune knew it, he was surrounded on all sides by people who were chanting at him to "chug, chug, chug!" He tried to tell the guy that because of his training he couldn't get poisoned or drunk, but he seemed to take that as a challenge or and immediately bought an entire bottle of expensive liquor._

 _Jaune figured it was only polite that he'd drink since the guy just bought an entire bottle, so he did. The stuff tasted awful and made him wish that he was drinking his mom's lemonade instead. Seriously, why do people even have alcohol?_

 _Three hours later Jaune was still sober and the guy had managed to knock himself out and was currently snoring in a corner. Everyone was cheering and giving him pats on the back. One guy even gave him a hundred lien for helping him win a bet._

 _The constant partying as getting a bit boring though, so Jaune decided to sneak away for a walk. He planned on staying in the village for a few days to gather some supplies before heading out again. He wasn't sure where to go next though; maybe north towards the Northern-Western lands? At least, that's what they were called. It looked like an exciting place to travel through at the very least; after all, the shape of the continent on the map was a giant dragon! How cool was that?_

 _He was walking through an empty field, just staring at his surroundings, when he caught the sight of something in the distance. A fight. From the looks of it, it seemed like someone was getting ganged up on by three other guys and losing. Badly. Even as he watched, he saw two of the guys holding one person on the ground while the third guy did... something. And from the sound of the screams it wasn't anything good._

 _So Jaune, being the Hunter he was, ran forwards and broke them up. By punching the woman with the weird glove in the face. To his mild shock, the woman was not sent over the horizon and instead was sent tumbling head over heals some distance away before landing on her feet. She must have been pretty durable._

 _The other two thugs - a girl with green hair and some guy with metal legs - looked a bit shocked. They dropped the girl and jumped back, and he caught her before she could hit the ground. He examined her and grimaced at what he saw._

 _Jaune wasn't a doctor, but even he knew that what he was seeing was not good. It looked like the girl had some black sludge on the left side of her face. It was bubbling and pulsing like it was alive and the girl looked as though she would die at any moment. What was worse, the black sludge seemed to be traveling down her neck and towards her arm. Meaning that if he didn't get this girl some help immediately, she would probably end up being corrupted or eaten by the stuff._

 _A sound made his head shoot up. The three thugs were standing a few feet away and were pointing their weapons at him. The woman, this time sporting a pair of glowing eyes, looked pissed. She didn't look all that injured either, which meant that Jaune would probably have to put a little more effort into beating her into a bloody pulp. Her two minions probably wouldn't need as much effort; all he had to do was get rid of their weapons and rip that guy's metal legs off and he would be able to send them to the authorities where they belonged._

 _He gently set the girl down then shot forward. He decided to go for the green haired girl first, mainly because her constant staring was getting on his nerves. She actually looked a bit shocked by his approach for some reason, and was unable to protect herself when he punched her in the mouth. The guy tried jumping out of the way, but he was able to snag one of his metal legs and rip it off. Said metal leg he threw at the glowing woman. There was a sound of glass breaking and what looked like a orange force field broke into pieces as the leg hit her square in the chest._

 _Then Jaune's view was filled with fire and dust as he felt something go off from where he was standing. It didn't do anything more than make him slightly confused and ruffle his clothes a bit, thankfully. He did_

 _not want to be running around naked because his clothes got set on fire. He made a note to thank that old lady whose name he never got. That woman made some really sturdy stuff. Either that, or the dust she made his cloak out of was really powerful. They weren't even singed!_

 _A quick check showed that the girl was alright and that the thugs were trying to run away, albeit pretty slowly. The glowing woman was clutching her stomach and limping, the guy with the metal leg was frantically hopping away, and the green haired girl was clutching her head and stumbling around like that drunk guy at the bar. From the looks of it, it shouldn't take more than a single punch to knock them all out. He wouldn't even need to move from where he was at; the shockwave should take care of it._

 _Jaune made sure to dial it back a bit just in case; he didn't want to kill them after all._

 _Drawing his fist back, he was in mid punch when out of NOWHERE that guy at the bar appeared right in front of him and started heading straight for the three thugs. Jaune tried to stop his punch, and was able to veer his aim off a bit so that he wouldn't hit the guy. It had the unfortunate side affect of hitting the ground and sending dust_

 _everywhere, making him unable to see just what the hell was going on. He could hear shots firing and the sound of a giant sword swishing everywhere, but that was it._

 _When the dust settled the drunk guy with the sword was fine, but the three thugs were gone. Probably escaped into the far off forest in the confusion. Jaune considered going after them, and was about to when a groan made him remember the girl. Looking down showed that the corruption had successfully spread all the way to her arm and was slowly eating away at her. He needed to get her to a doctor right now, or else she wouldn't make it._

 _Picking her up, he paid no notice to the drunk guy with the sword talking to him and ran as fast as he could back to the village, a shockwave of force left in his wake._


End file.
